1. Field
At least one example embodiment relates to infrared ray detectors and/or methods of detecting infrared rays using the same, and more particularly, to infrared ray detectors that compensate for temperatures and/or methods of detecting infrared rays using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An object having a temperature T radiates a wide range of light, which has a maximum value at a specific wavelength due to blackbody radiation. For example, light radiated to surroundings from an object having a temperature T radiates infrared rays having a maximum value at a wavelength of approximately 10 μm. When the infrared rays are incident to a thermal mass that is supported by a thermal leg, the temperature of the infrared rays is increased. Due to the temperature change of the incident infrared rays, characteristic changes of a material, such as, resistance change, polarity change, electromotive force change, or bending change may be obtained according to the type of material. Thus, a thermal image may be obtained using the thermal characteristics of the material. In particular, a method of realizing a thermal image using a resistance change of a material may involve a bolometer.
Key factors that determine the magnitude of a temperature change in a pixel are an amount of incident energy that is proportional to the multiple of an average optical absorption rate of a pixel at a given wavelength range and the area of the pixel, a thermal mass of the pixel, and a thermal conductance of the pixel.
In order to realize a thermal camera having a high resolution and a high temperature precision, an array having a format higher than a VGA class has been developed through a reduction of pixel size. However, the reduction of the pixel size results in the reduction of a pixel area, which reduces the amount of incident energy and reduces the length of the thermal leg. As a result, the thermal conductivity of the pixel is increased, and accordingly, the temperature change thereof is reduced and the temperature noise figure is increased. Therefore, currently, a pixel size is limited by a diffraction limit of the wavelength (˜10 lm), where an object radiates infrared rays having a maximum value.